Polyploid Nicotiana section Suaveolentes originated by hybridization of two ancestral Nicotiana clades

Abstract

We propose that <i>Nicotiana</i> section <i>Suaveolentes</i> arose from the hybridization of two ancestral species from which the <i>Noctiflorae/Petunioides</i> and <i>Alatae/Sylvestres</i> sections are derived, with <i>Noctiflorae</i> the maternal parent. This study is a good example in which the use of genome wide data provided additional evidence about the origin of a complex polyploid clade.